Robert Wright Campbell
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Robert Wright Campbell (June 9, 1927–September 21, 2000), often credited as R. Wright Campbell or Robert Campbell, was an American screenwriter, author and occasional actor. He was the brother of actor William Campbell and brother in law of Judith Campbell Exner. He wrote ten television series, including ''Maverick'' and ''Marcus Welby, M.D.''.


Biography

Campbell was born in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
. He studied painting at Brooklyn's
Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
, intending to be a commercial artist. He was drafted into the US Army during the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. When he asked his brother William how much he earned for acting, he went to Hollywood after his discharge.


Hollywood

Campbell began writing for
anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
such as '' Loretta Young Theatre''. Through his brother William, Campbell met
Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
for whom he wrote the screen play '' Five Guns West'' (1955), which was the first film Corman directed. Campbell sold two original Western scripts to Universal, '' Gun for a Coward'' and '' Quantez''. Both ended up being made with
Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
. He also sold two stories to
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
's Bryna Productions: ''King Kelly'' about a soldier who sets himself up as a ruler in the South West after the Civil War, and ''The Allison Brothers''. Neither was made. In 1956 he and his brother announced they had purchased a story about John Ashley, ''Requiem for an Outlaw'' and intended to make it independently but the film was not made. Campbell was hired to work on the screenplay '' Man of a Thousand Faces'', the biography of Lon Chaney. The producer deliberately picked a young writer who would not be influenced by "nostalgia". The script was reworked by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts but Campbell kept his screen credit. All the writers were nominated for Best Screenplay. Campbell did a fourth script for Universal, ''Beneath the Roses'', but it was not made. He wrote for several Warner Bros. Television shows such as '' Maverick'', '' Bronco'' and ''
Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...
''. He reworked ''Five Guns West'' for Corman as '' The Secret Invasion''. He planned to follow it with ''The Deserters'' another WW2 tale for Corman but it appears to have not been made. In 1972 he wrote ''Whistler'' for Corman, a biopic of James Abbott Whistler.


Novels

Campbell left screenwriting and turned to novels after visiting
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...
where he moved to. His first novel was ''The Spy Who Sat and Waited'' (1975). He wrote several novels of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
that he called "La-La Land" with a hero named James Whistler in ''Alice in La-La Land'' and ''In La-La Land We Trust'', a series of Jimmy Flannery novels beginning with ''The Junkyard Dog'' (awarded the
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
and
Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...
for Best Paperback Original) and ''The Cat's Meow'' and two Jake Hatch novels. His 1978 novel, ''Where Pigeons Go to Die'', was adapted into a television film of the same title for NBC by actor and filmmaker
Michael Landon Michael Landon Sr. (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on th ...
.


Death

Campbell died at Hospice House on September 21, 2000, in
Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...
at the age of 73.


Legacy

On February 2, 2003, the ''Robert Campbell Balcony'' over the Harrison Memorial Library's main reading room was named in his honor.
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
praised Campbell's script for ''Machine Gun Kelly'' as the best script Corman ever shot. ''Filmink'' argued "Campbell never really got his due as a writer but his reputation has risen in recent years."


Writings


Screenplays

*''
The Loretta Young Show ''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hoste ...
'' - "Thanksgiving in Beaver Run" (1954) *'' Five Guns West'' (1955) - also appeared as actor *'' The Star and the Story'' (1955) - episode "Hand to Hand" *''
Medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...
'' (1955) - episode "All the Lonely Night" *''
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
'' (1955–56) - episodes "The Outlander", "The Storm Riders" *'' Gun for a Coward'' (1957) *'' Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) *'' Quantez'' (1957) *'' Machine Gun Kelly'' (1958) *'' Maverick'' (1958) - episode "Rope of Cards" *'' Teenage Caveman'' (1958) *''Maverick'' (1960) - episode "Cruise of the Cynthia B" *'' Bronco'' (1960) - episode "Tangled Trail" *'' A Terrible Beauty'' (1960) *''
Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...
'' (1962) .- episode "An Echo of Honor" *'' The Young Racers'' (1963) - also acted *'' The Masque of the Red Death'' (1964) *'' The Secret Invasion'' (1964) *'' 12 O'Clock High'' - episode "The Duel at Mont Sainte Marie" (1967) *'' Hells Angels on Wheels'' (1967) *'' Captain Nemo and the Underwater City'' (1969) *'' Marcus Welby, M.D.'' (1974) - episode "No Charity for the MacAllisters")


Novels

*''The Spy Who Sat and Waited'' (1975) *''Where Pigeons Go to Die'' (1978) *''Circus Couronne'' (1979) *''Malloy's Subway'' (1981) *''The Junkyard Dog'' (1986) *''In La-La Land We Trust'' (1986) *''Alice in La-La Land'' (1987) *''The 600-Pound Gorilla'' (1987) *''Hip Deep in Alligators'' (1987) *''Juice'' (1988) *''Thinning the Turkey Herd'' (1988) *''The Cat's Meow'' (1988) *''Plugged Nickel'' (1988) *''Nibbled to Death by Ducks'' (1989) *''Red Cent'' (1989) *''Sweet La-La Land'' (1990) *''The Gift Horse's Mouth'' (1990) *''Boneyards'' (1992) *''In a Pig's Eye'' (1992) *''The Wizard of La-La Land'' (1995) *''Sauce for the Goose'' (1996) *''The Lion's Share ''(1996) *''Pigeon Pie'' (1998)


Plays

*''Wondersmith'' (1978)STAGE REVIEW: 'Wondersmith': Bonhomie in Bohemia Christon, Lawrence. Los Angeles Times 08 Feb 1978: f12. *''Quadruped'' (1991)


As Actor Only

*'' Cell 2455, Death Row'' (1955)


Notes


External links

*
Obituary
at ''The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Robert Wright 1927 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male screenwriters Anthony Award winners American male novelists Writers from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters